avatarAvanthi Nadesan

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Abstract

li><b>Take it easy on yourself: </b>Once you have made a decision stop questioning if you have made the right decision. Based on the information you had at hand, believe that you must have made the right decision.</li></ul><h2 id="4907">Decision Fatigue and The Paradox of Choices</h2><p id="db96">Decision fatigue is linked to the ‘paradox of choice,’ made famous by Columbia University’s research project on jam samples which showed that more choices don’t lead to a higher conversion rate.</p><p id="aa48">In fact, people overwhelmed by too many choices can end up making no choice at all.</p><p id="f3f1">When 6 flavors of jam were available, 30% of those who tasted samples made a purchase. When 24 flavors of jam samples were made available to shoppers, only 3% who tasted the jam samples went on to make a purchase.</p><p id="8897">Even small decisions become overwhelming with the introduction of the ‘paradox of choice’.</p><p id="adaf">Today we have so many choices available around us. Having too many choices results into</p><ol><li><b>Paralysis</b> — Instead of making the choice, we delay our decisions or avoid making the decision altogether</li><li><b>Less Satisfied — </b>Even when you overcome paralysis and make a decision, you will be less satisfied as there are so many other choices you left out.</li></ol><p id="bf4f"><b>Sources:</b></p><div id="b42d" class="link-block"> <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/21/health/decision-fatigue-solutions-wellness/index.html"> <div> <div> <h2>Decision fatigue can make the smallest choices feel overwhelming. Here's how to find relief</h2> <div><h3>The thousands of decisions people make each day can le

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ave them feeling drained. Learn how to make smarter choices using…</h3></div> <div><p>edition.cnn.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*m55Svqa_xHGkB6an)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="db57" class="link-block"> <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-decision-fatigue"> <div> <div> <h2>What doctors wish patients knew about decision fatigue</h2> <div><h3>Making decisions day in and day out-whether they are as easy picking a route home from work or as difficult as…</h3></div> <div><p>www.ama-assn.org</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*duCx2SGrgSh6ATHO)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="81b4" class="link-block"> <a href="https://gostrengths.com/what-is-the-paradox-of-choice/"> <div> <div> <h2>What is the paradox of choice?</h2> <div><h3>Researcher and author, Barry Schwartz, has made a name for himself by promoting a theory we all have experience with…</h3></div> <div><p>gostrengths.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*ZtuFLoeLAg3YtG26)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

A TV Series Showed How To Reduce Fatigue

Decision fatigue is real

“Why should we have Indian on a Thursday? Thursday night is pizza night” — Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory.

One thing that The Big Bang Theory gang did really well was to set a fixed cuisine for each dinner as per the day. That meant they had one less thing to decide upon.

Decision Fatigue is known to drain out your energy.

Did you know your brain is making up to 35,000 decisions each day!?

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/bored-formal-man-watching-laptop-at-desk-3760811/

If you want to reduce decision fatigue, you can try out these things:

  • Maintain Unchanging Routines: For e.g., fix the color of clothes you will wear each day, pre-decide on what breakfast you will have each morning, fix the time you will go to sleep, days when you will do grocery shopping, etc.
  • Delegate decisions: Ask your kids what they would like to have for dinner, ask your workmates to pick a restaurant for lunch, ask your spouse to choose the movie/series you want to watch next, and so on. Delegation helps in reducing the number of decisions you need to make yourself.
  • Make important decisions in the morning: We are known to make the best decisions in the morning. Leaving it in the evening can result in impulsive decision-making.
  • Take it easy on yourself: Once you have made a decision stop questioning if you have made the right decision. Based on the information you had at hand, believe that you must have made the right decision.

Decision Fatigue and The Paradox of Choices

Decision fatigue is linked to the ‘paradox of choice,’ made famous by Columbia University’s research project on jam samples which showed that more choices don’t lead to a higher conversion rate.

In fact, people overwhelmed by too many choices can end up making no choice at all.

When 6 flavors of jam were available, 30% of those who tasted samples made a purchase. When 24 flavors of jam samples were made available to shoppers, only 3% who tasted the jam samples went on to make a purchase.

Even small decisions become overwhelming with the introduction of the ‘paradox of choice’.

Today we have so many choices available around us. Having too many choices results into

  1. Paralysis — Instead of making the choice, we delay our decisions or avoid making the decision altogether
  2. Less Satisfied — Even when you overcome paralysis and make a decision, you will be less satisfied as there are so many other choices you left out.

Sources:

Decision Making
Fatigue
Pscyhology
Life
Life Lessons
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